police

Photograph of a march held by the Newark Community Union Project (NCUP) to protest police brutality after the killing of Lester Long by Newark policeman Henry Martinez. The shooting of Lester Long was one of the most well-known and contentious cases of alleged police brutality in Newark during the 1960s and reinvigorated community demands for a police review board. — Credit: Doug Eldridge Collection

This article from the Newark Evening News was turned into a flyer by the Veterans Civic League of Newark to celebrate the settlement of Newark Patrolman Henry Martinez’s libel suit against civil rights leaders. Martinez filed suit against James Farmer, Robert Curvin, Fred Means, and others for “libelous and slanderous” statements made against him after the patrolman fatally shot Lester Long. The shooting of Lester Long and demands for a police review board were highly polarizing events along racial lines in Newark. The Veterans Civic League of Newark was one of several white reactionary organizations, including police unions and patrolmen, that sought to combat measures for police reform. — Credit: Junius Williams Papers

Clipping from an unmarked newspaper covering a lawsuit filed by Newark Patrolman Henry Martinez against members of civil rights organizations in Newark. Martinez filed suit against James Farmer, Robert Curvin, Fred Means, and others for “libelous and slanderous” statements made against him after the patrolman fatally shot Lester Long. Martinez’s lawsuit followed in the wake of a similar suit filed by Lt. Thomas Gilligan in New York City after the officer shot and killed 15-year-old James Powell, sparking the 1964 Harlem rebellion. — Credit: Junius Williams Papers

Newsletter from the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey (ACLU) summarizing the ways in which various organizations acted in response to the fatal shooting of Lester Long by Newark Patrolman Henry Martinez. The shooting of Lester Long was one of the most well-known and contentious cases of alleged police brutality in Newark during the 1960s and reinvigorated community demands for a police review board. — Credit: Newark Public Library

The shooting of Lester Long was one of the most well-known and contentious cases of alleged police brutality in Newark during the 1960s and reinvigorated community demands for a police review board. — Credit: Junius Williams Papers

Report of the Newark Human Rights Commission after a special meeting held on June 21, 1965, to gather information about the shooting of Lester Long by Newark Patrolman Henry Martinez. The ACLU said of this report, “the only statement that the Commission was justified in making based on the evidence it gathered was that it did not have sufficient evidence to make a statement.” The shooting of Lester Long was one of the most well-known and contentious cases of alleged police brutality in Newark during the 1960s and reinvigorated community demands for a police review board. — Credit: Junius Williams Papers

Photograph of a march held by the Newark Community Union Project (NCUP) to protest police brutality after the killing of Lester Long by Newark policeman Henry Martinez. The shooting of Lester Long was one of the most well-known and contentious cases of alleged police brutality in Newark during the 1960s and reinvigorated community demands for a police review board. — Credit: Doug Eldridge Collection

Flyer distributed by the Newark Community Union Project (NCUP) announcing a rally to protest the killing of Lester Long by Newark policeman Henry Martinez. The shooting of Lester Long was one of the most well-known and contentious cases of alleged police brutality in Newark during the 1960s and reinvigorated community demands for a police review board. — Credit: NJ State Archives

Photograph of a rally held by the Newark branch of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) to protest the killing of Lester Long by Newark policeman Henry Martinez. The shooting of Lester Long was one of the most well-known and contentious cases of alleged police brutality in Newark during the 1960s and reinvigorated community demands for a police review board. — Credit: Photo by Jim Lowney, Doug Eldrige Collection

Flyer distributed by the Newark branch of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) announcing a rally to protest the killing of Lester Long by Newark policeman Henry Martinez. The shooting of Lester Long was one of the most well-known and contentious cases of alleged police brutality in Newark during the 1960s and reinvigorated community demands for a police review board. — Credit: Junius Williams Papers